The electors of the Municipality shall have the power to propose any ordinance or resolution, except an ordinance for the appropriation of money, and to adopt or reject the same at the polls, such power being known as the initiative. An initiated ordinance or resolution shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Council by petition signed by at least that number of electors which equals ten percent (10%) of the electors voting at the last preceding general election. When so submitted, the Clerk shall forthwith determine the sufficiency of the petition, and if found sufficient the Council shall at once have the proposed ordinance or resolution read and referred to an appropriate committee which may be a committee of the whole.
Provisions shall be made for public hearings on the proposed ordinance or resolution not later than thirty (30) days after the date on which such ordinance or resolution was submitted to the Clerk. The Council shall within forty (40) days after such ordinance or resolution is submitted take final action thereon, either enacting, amending, or rejecting the proposed ordinance or resolution. If the Council fails or refuses to pass such proposed ordinance or resolution, or passes it in a form different from that set forth in the original petition, the petitioners may file a supplemental petition with the Clerk of Council within ten (10) days after final action on such proposed ordinance or resolution by the Council.
The supplemental petition shall be signed by that number of additional qualified electors which, when taken together with those who signed the original petition, will total at least that number which equals fifteen percent (15%) of the electors voting at the last preceding general election. The supplemental petition may require that the proposed ordinance or resolution be submitted to the electors in its original form, or in the form adopted by Council, and may fix the date of the election, provided such date shall be not less than ninety (90) days from the filing of such supplemental petitions. Upon receipt of a supplemental petition, found to be sufficient by the Clerk, the Council shall provide for submitting such ordinance or resolution to a vote of the electors on the date in the supplemental petition; or, if no date is fixed therein, at the next general election occurring more than ninety (90) days from the filing of such supplemental petition.
Such ordinance or resolution submitted to a vote of the electors shall become effective from the time of its approval by a majority of the electors unless such resolution or ordinance changes the zoning classification or zoning district from one land use to another land use, then such ordinance or resolution must be approved by fifty-five percent (55%) of those voting in the election.
(Amended 11-6-1990)